Thursday, April 27, 2017

You can read the order HERE but here is a MONEY QUOTE:Having thoroughly considered the parties’ briefing and the relevant record, the Court finds oral argument unnecessary and hereby DENIES Plaintiffs’ motion to continue and GRANTS in part and DENIES in partTranslation: SO CUT and dried, we don't NEED to hear no stinkin' Bob Kelly Argument.

AND this:"[T]hese are very rare circumstances. The DOI has found such disenrollment decisions to be invalid due to a lack of quorum, and the DOI decisions stand during the interim until the DOI and BIA recognize a newly elected Tribal Council or the DOI decisions are invalidated. Under this set of facts, this Court has jurisdiction."
Read more about the issue HERE and HERE

I've invited a friend, American Indian Activist Paul Johnson, to write a piece on the civil rights that we constantly talk about, but to many, they only have a vague idea what it means. I'm going to break down his piece into at least two posts, so I'm inviting everyone to share it and anticipate the next post from Paul. I'll add some thoughts on how these violations relate to my family's issues at Pechanga. repost from July 2015

The recent
resolution from the NNABA supporting Equal Protection and Due Process for those
who have been divested of the Right of Tribal Citizenshipis shining a light on
the civil and human rights violations that accompany many of the disenrollment
actions happening throughout Indian Country. So what
are these civil rights to which we refer, and how are they being violated?

When we speak of the right to due process we are citing
the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution. Due process
provides protections to those facing a proposed action, applies in civil and
criminal proceedings, and has specific requirements.

Wednesday, April 26, 2017

Professor Matthew Fletcher, respected editor at Turtle Talk Blog gives his observations on the meaning of Lewis v Clarke, in which the Supreme Court struck down some sovereignty protections . Are these cracks in the sovereignty dam...because some of the practices of corrupt tribes are being exposed?

Monday, April 24, 2017

We KNOW that former President Barack Obama's administration FAILED to protect the individual Indian from harm by their tribal leaders. Can we expect Donald Trump to fail as miserably? Why do our leaders IGNORE THEIR MORAL RESPONSIBILITY?

WHO can be the BIGGER FAILURE on
Trust Responsibility to Native Americans

We write about tribal disenrollment most often, but this goes deeper, including coverage of health care and all the benefits that should come to ALL Indian people.

DICKSTEIN rears his ugly head in the Wilton Rancheria issue. Add a dash of Dutschke, and this DD combination is not a good one.

Wilton Rancheria’s bid to build a $400 million Indian casino in Elk Grove is in a holding pattern while the Trump administration formulates Indian gaming policy and reviews Obama administration approvals that ushered the project forward, according to tribal-law attorney Howard Dickstein.

Tuesday, April 18, 2017

HERE is a letter YOU can and SHOULD send to Attorney General JEFF SESSIONS, crafted by our friend and guest blogger Reinstatement Resolution We sent this to Obama's last Atty General Loretta Lynch with NO response. Maybe...this time.

It's a request for a policy statement, which could be as simple as "we won't defend the civil and human rights of Indian people harmed by their own Tribes." And may be far too likely.

I am writing this request on behalf of thousands of American Indians who have been removed from the Membership Rolls of Federally Recognized Tribes without due process and in violation of their right to equal protection under the law.

Many of the decisions to terminate tribal membership have been imposed by Tribal Leaders without the approval of the General Membership of the Tribe, in direct contradiction of the governing documents of their respective Tribes, and motivated by racial bias. This racial bias is compounded by the fact that some of these Tribal Leaders have no Indian ancestry themselves, and would not meet the same standards as these disenrolled Indians, who have endured discrimination and bias from American society, and now face bias and discrimination from within their own tribes.

Tribal Leaders act with impunity due to the protections of sovereign immunity. Many of these leaders claim that the Santa Clara Pueblos v. Martinez Supreme Court decision gives them the right to exclude legitimate tribal members and they have done so, causing egregious harm to the Native Americans who lose their tribal citizenship. This harm extends far beyond the loss of membership in a Federally Recognized Tribe. It means denial of eligibility for federal benefits to help finance education, medical treatment, and even emergency assistance to families in need. It means the loss of land rights, burial rights, and access to benefits provided by the tribe. It means a denial of heritage, and the legacy of their ancestors, and the connection to their culture.

I want to clarify the facts regarding the disenrollments that are eerily similar in most cases. Disenrollees committed no crime, and in no way compromised their standing within the tribe. The disenrollees did not suddenly stop being American Indians or change in any way. What changed were the Tribal Leaders and their attitude toward certain citizens of their nation. The Tribal Leaders decided arbitrarily and selectively to exclude certain members and targeted them because of their race. They said these members did not belong to the community, that these members did not have the blood of the band, and that these members should never have been enrolled into the Tribe.

Disenrollees do not receive hearings in many cases. They do not have the opportunity to face their accusers, have representation of counsel, present evidence and arguments in their defense, or to be judged by their peers. Disenrollees do not receive equal protection under the law since they have been singled out and placed under a standard that is not applied equally to other tribal members. Disenrollees face ridicule and derision once their membership is terminated, and they are denied recourse because the Tribal Leaders strip them of citizenship and all their rights under tribal law.

Once disenrollees lose their standing as dual citizens, they must be recognized as U.S. Citizens with the full protections of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, yet the powers and authorities of the U.S. Government have completely abandoned them. Their rights have been abused, their identities destroyed, and their tribal citizenship has been revoked without just cause, but the BIA refuses to interfere. When they attempt to bring the Tribal Leaders to justice, the Courts claim they empathize but have no jurisdiction, and regularly dismiss complaints filed against Tribal Leaders on grounds of sovereign immunity. The Department of Justice has ignored all requests to investigate, and even refused to acknowledge that there have been civil rights abuses.

Now these U.S. Citizens formally request a Policy Statement from the Department of Justice. Does the DOJ recognize the civil rights of U.S. Citizens who are also Tribal Members, and support their quest for due process, and equal protection under the law? Does the DOJ acknowledge that they have a duty and obligation to protect these U.S. Citizens from the abuse of their civil rights, and to investigate the reported violations just as they would civil rights violations in Ferguson , Mississippi or St. Louis , Missouri ?

Please do not once again ignore the thousands of people who have suffered harm through civil rights abuses. They are U.S. Citizens and are entitled to know what policy and guidelines the Department of Justice has in place to enforce civil rights laws on behalf of Native Americans who face discrimination within their own Tribes.

This despite the fact the Bureau has known for decades, the BIA wrongfully enrolled hundreds of Non-San Pasqual Indians in the Tribe and whose families have conspired with the BIA to keep the True San Pasqual Indians from enrollment in their Tribe, and from Federal Recognition .

How can Bureau of Indian Affairs defend their defense of non-San Pasqual Indians, versus their defense of non-San Pasqual Indians? It makes NO sense! If you think the OROVILLE DAM break would be a disaster, think what is coming up for California's Bureau of Indian Affairs, headed by Amy (her again?)Dutschke. The implications of what the B.I.A. has done at San Pasqual is STUNNING. There is a lawsuit outstanding now for $89 million the last I heard. Is the Sacramento Office of Bureau of Indian Affairs going to attempt to defend their fraud and conspiracy, against the enrollment of the True San Pasqual Indians? How will Sacramento of Bureau of Indian Affairs, complicit in the corruption of THEFT of INDIAN HERITAGE of Jose Juan & Guadalupe Descendants, defend their enrollment of non-San -Pasqual Indians against the True San Pasqual Indians?

The matter of Jose Juan, wife Guadalupe and daughter Modesta Contreras, which we wrote about in April 2014 has reached the filing stage. Our U.S. Attorneys will be defending the United States of America. The documentary evidence we've seen is ...overwhelming. Might they settle to save this from becoming COBELL in magnitude and costing taxpayers hundreds of millions??

Sunday, April 16, 2017

On this HOLY day for Christians throughout the world, we wish you ALL a blessed Easter.

May the corrupt tribal officials find this day as the beginning of their atonement for their sins against their neighbors, their family and their tribe.

Happy EasterOn the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him.” So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb. They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and arrived at the tomb first; he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in. When Simon Peter arrived after him, he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there, and the cloth that had covered his head, not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place. Then the other disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb first, and he saw and believed. For they did not yet understand the Scripture that he had to rise from the dead.John 20:1–9

“She believed (the casino presence) would be a loss of the ‘Indian ways,’ ” Spurgeon said. “She spoke out against having any gaming at the community.”

Spurgeon said Ms.Toggery struggled after losing her home and became an urban Indian after being denied affiliation, rights and privileges by the tribe and the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

“Although she was not a tribal member at Jamul, her mother, Marie Toggery, my grandmother, was a tribal member at Jamul,” said Jamul Indian Village Tribe Chairwoman Erica Pinto. “Karen was my aunt, she was just 62, she was young, full of life and outspoken.

“Regardless of our disagreements, she was our relative,” Pinto said. “We are mourning the loss of one of our family members.”

She said the family has been sharing their memories. “My mother Carlene and Karen grew up together at Jamul, and they were friends as kids and played Barbies together.”

Until she became ill last November, Ms. Toggery had been working on a dictionary to memorialize the Kumeyaay language so it would not be lost to future generations. She spoke fluently in the old dialect, Spurgeon said.

“Karen fought the good fight against cancer,” Spurgeon said. “She will be remembered for her courage by the Jamul community, her many friends and relatives.”

I've recently published two articles on the most recent Elem Indian Colony Tribal Disenrollment actions, but I've been recently made aware of another one. I want to be clear, that I want ALL disenrollment stories to be made public. Watch the video below

On Nov 10 2007, 25 tribal members of the Elem Indian Colony were DISENROLLED without due process as required by ICRA.
25 tribal members were denied the right to enter and to vote. When an issue regarding membership disenrollment was presented, a vote was then taken by the remaining tribal members with the outcome of 41 for and 33 against the disenrollment. OP: Tribal Disenrollment to CONTROL the VOTE. Don't let people vote for their own survival?

Tribal Disenrollment Protest

Delbert Thomas Sr. who was born and raised at EIC and one of the original 13 members of the Tribe was one of those stripped of citizenship and all rights afforded to tribal members.

As USUAL, the BIA could only speak ONE WORD on the issue: MARTINEZ when in REALITY, they FAILED in their DUTY:

MONEY QUOTE:In sum, NAICJA does not view your Nooksack Tribal Court judicial appointment as valid. Further, while you have occupied the position of Chiefe Judge at Nooksack, proceedings do not appear to have been conducted in compliance with the federal ICRA or fundamental tenets of tribal due process at law. OP: That's gonna leave a mark....and give the Department of Justice some leverage.

What about actions that tribal governments who have denied due process to tribal members in disenrollment proceedings (i.e. Pechanga, Pala, Chukchansi). Is there now a course of action to be taken for those 10,000+ who have been denied due process? Will the U.S. Attorney now stand with the numerous Native Americans who have been denied due process in their disenrollment.

After 49 years, the U.S. Government is enforcing the Indian Civil Rights Act as it applies to Nooksack. Better late than never. Thanks to Jeff Sessions and his Department of Justice. Are they REVERSING Obama's hands off policy in the face of criminal conspiracies within tribes?

Since March 2016, the Nooksack tribe has NOT had a duly elected council. Here The Department of Health and Human Service puts Nooksack Chairman BOB KELLY on notice that they will be reassuming services after their failure to provide services to those unlawfully disenrolled (Nooksack 306). We have that embedded here:

Monday, April 10, 2017

We are getting word that the recent change to disenrollment policy at the Elem Indian Colony, may be just smoke and mirrors to quash the lawsuit against the leaders of the Elem Colony, who had been accused of violations of civil and human rights.

Sources say that the tribe continues to violate tribal citizen's right to vote and services are refused.

Additionally, 18 year old adults of the "disenfranchised" are not allowed to enroll. DNA tests are required for the children of the former disenrolled male citizens only.

Shamefully, word reaching us that one female citizen of EIC, tried to enroll her 19 yr.old with autism. The Tribal government said he needed a high school diploma.

Seems like the goalposts are a moving target and abusing special needs tribal citizens doesn't matter.

Why is there subterfuge when it's a simple matter to restore all rights of tribal citizens? Recently, on March 18 tribal elder, U.S. Army Vietnam Veteran Cecil Brown passed away. He was among the disenrolled. Since his death, his widow, a prestigious elder and a main cook for the ceremonial Roundhouse, has been instructed by the tribal government, to vacate her home that her husband built.REALLY Elem leaders? The tribe doesn't own that home! As of last week, the tribe has offered to remove the disenfranchisement status of only FIVE members, reinstating their per capita and voting rights on the contingency that Robert Geary, (Roundhouse leader and the last speaker of the tribe's language who resides on the reservation and Rose Steele move OFF the reservation.

This is a PLOY to create friction among the disenfranchised members. Divide and CONQUER?
WHO is the guiding force of these despicable acts of the Elem Indian Colony leaders?
WHO says to them "what you are doing is right and just"?
WHO can be proud of these actions? It's NOT the Indian way. Bring ALL the people HOME, where they belong.

Cherie Lash-Rhoades, the woman convicted of killing four people in a mass shooting in Alturas in 2014, was sentenced to death Monday morning by a Modoc County judge.

The judge sentenced Lash-Rhoades to death for the four people she murdered and 150 years to life for the attempted murder cases and special allegations. Lash-Rhoades will not be eligible for custody credits. The judge also ordered that Lash-Rhoades pay $64,000 in restitution.

Lash-Rhoades was found guilty in December of 2016 on four counts of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder. The jury recommended the death penalty. According to Modoc County District Attorney Jordan Funk, this is the first death penalty case he knows of in Modoc County.

Why isn't anyone asking: If the Federal Government says that the Nooksack Tribe as Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Kipnis puts it is “unelected, unrecognized and illegitimate group, hereafter referred to as ‘the Kelly Faction.’ ”, WHY are they allowed to RUN A CASINO?

Nooksack 306 Protesting Disenrollment

The Seattle Times fleshes out the story we had last week about the filing.The document makes a “good case that it really is an outrageous situation going on at Nooksack.”Its argument is rooted in the council’s cancellation of elections in March 2016. Long before, it had targeted some 300 people for disenrollment, saying they didn’t meet criteria for membership based on lineage.Kipnis, on behalf of new Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, takes the showdown to a new level. He calls Kelly and his allies “anti-democratic” and “abusive.” He says they have engaged in a “scheme” to disenroll members using a “sham hearing process.”OP: That being said, the BIA was COMPLICIT in that scheme, as we reported here

The Nooksack "leaders" are immoral, thieving, scheming individuals who bring shame to Indian Country. STAND against this. This is more serious than Kendall Jenner in a Pepsi commercial....

In the last decade, the Shenandoah family has worked to end the disgraceful actions of disenrollment. Now, she needs help from the Native community and we have good news that she is now on the TRANSPLANT list, awaiting a liver.

Shenandoah was approved for the transplant list last week, according to her Facebook page and a GoFundMe site that's been set up by her family to help pay for the costs associated with her care.

"Jo is doing well and looking forward to the transplant. She is at the best place in the world (the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida) for this procedure and the warmth of the area is of great benefit," her family wrote on her GoFundMe page.

Shenandoah suffered a C. diff infection, which shut down her liver, permanently. C. diff is a bacterial infection that can cause severe intestinal problems and even death. Shenandoah's family thinks she picked it up while visiting a local hospital in June.

"This would not have been possible without the assistance of so many people and for that I say, most emphatically, NIAWEN:KOWA!," wrote Doug George, Shenandoah's husband, on the GoFundMe site. (That means "Thank you very much" in Mohawk.

Thursday, April 6, 2017

These Ten TRIBAL Casinos are some we chose to STAY AWAY from and NOT spend your entertainment dollars there. In NO particular order, except for Pechanga because they are MY TRIBE and they cheated MY family and dishonored MY ancestors and our progenyThere is much more detail at each of the links, please click through

PECHANGA RESORT & CASINO: Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians CA

In 2004, 130+ adult members and their immediate families were disenrolled from the Pechanga Band. The members were all descendants of Chief Pablo Apish, a historically significant leader of the Pechanga/Temecula people. None of the members were allowed to participate in the 2004 tribal elections as a result of their disenrollment.

An additional extended family of approximately 100 adults was disenrolled in March 2006 when tribal officials determined that the ancestor from whom they are lineally descended from was not an Original Pechanga/Temecula person. This determination was made despite the fact that a report prepared by a well known anthropologist hired by the Band's Enrollment Committee concluded she was a Pechanga/Temecula person.

The most recent disenrollment of 100+ adults and children was especially egregious as the General Membership, the Tribe's governing body, had previously passed a law which (1) repealed the Tribe's disenrollment procedures and (2) made it illegal for the Enrollment Committee to disenroll members.
There is ALSO a moratorium on membership, which also keeps Chairman Mark Macarro's OWN COUSIN out as well as family of other members...equal opportunity OFFENDER?Northwood Casino - Nooksack Tribal Nation WA

This tribe has been working for YEARS to disenroll a family that has been proven to belong. 306 people are suffering at the hand of a tribal chairman, Bob Kelly, who was adopted into the tribe! Jobs lost, benefits stolen, families' abused and they change the rules in midstream, even to the point of denying children. They might force you to hit a 17 at the casino?VALLEY VIEW CASINO: San Pasqual Band of Diegueno Indians CA

Run by NON San Pasqual blood, this tribe has worked to both DISENROLL members, and KEEP approximately 125 TRUE San Pasqual descendants OUT OF THE TRIBE. Tip: Iron Eyes Cody, played an Indian, but he was NOT. Many of the San Pasqual....play San Pasqual, but they are NOT.Turning Stone Resort Casino - Oneida Nation, NY

Ray Halbritter has gained fame with the anti Redskins mascot issue, but has clearly not been known for stripping his aunt Maisie Shenandoah and three dozen tribal members “of their voice” in Nation affairs — meaning they were not eligible for Nation programs and services. To prove it...he simply BULLDOZED his own family's HOMES...

PALA RESORT & CASINO: Pala Band of Luiseno Indians CA

Corrupt leader Robert Smith has terminated the citizenship of 154 tribal members, threatened numerous others with a similar fate. The General Council has no access to the business records. Evictions, stripping of rights, Elder Abuse, Child Abuse...you name it...

RED HAWK CASINO:Shingle Springs RancheriaCA

On January 7, 2014, the Cook Family received the devastating news they were being suspended as members of the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians recommended by the Enrollment Committee and enacted by the Tribal Council. A total of 138 family members were being questioned of their lineal heritage to their ancestors who were named on a BIA Census. On March 7, 2014 the Cook Family were disenrolled from the Tribe and stripped of their rights and citizenship

Nice article in the Santa Maria Sun on what the Chumash Tribe has done to its people since tribal gaming has happened. Which side is greedy?

While the recent news cycle has been filled with stories of U.S. politicians and their constituents taking a stand against “illegal” immigrants, there’s a smaller, more internal struggle for citizenship happening in the heart of Santa Barbara County.

On March 8, a federal appeals court in California affirmed a decision denying Rosanna Miranda’s appeal to have her family included as members of the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians. She applied to the tribe for their membership but was denied, and she has fought to prove her family’s ancestry ever since.

The case involves Miranda, her five daughters, and her sister, who she believes should be included as formal tribal members. Miranda applied to the Chumash’s enrollment committee in 1992, but didn’t receive an answer until 2002. OP: TEN YEARS??

Members of Native American tribes are typically entitled to tribal benefits. With the Chumash, particularly, there’s identity, housing, and money at stake. Members receive proceeds from the casino, which opened in 1994.

With a steady stream of cash from the Chumash Casino Resort’s income, all 153 members of the Santa Ynez Chumash received “more than $1 million in casino proceeds” between 2000 and 2004, according to an October 2004 Los Angeles Times article.

But Miranda said it’s not just about the money; it’s about having a say in tribal affairs.“Money does matter, but it’s having a voice in the tribe for the next generation,” Miranda told the Sun. “If they’re not part of the tribe, they won’t be able to vote on anything.”

The children are the REAL faces of those harmed by their own people, in this advocacy movement and in some cases, their OWN FAMILIES.
Been seeing a lot of pictures of Natives against Tribal Disenrollment, HAVE YOU posted?

Mark Macarro of Pechanga got rid of 25% of his tribe, including elders, and children and the UNBORN. Additionally, he's kept his own COUSINS from their rightful place in the tribe.

Federal agents Tuesday shut down the Bicycle Hotel and Casino in Bell Gardens as part of a criminal fraud investigation, authorities said.Authorities with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) confirmed the raid, but would not comment “on the scope or nature of the investigation.”The raid was a part of a “criminal fraud” investigation, according to KNX 1070’s Pete Demetriou.